Vending machine



M. ROOTS VENDING MACHINE April 22, 1958 Filed Feb. 10,1954

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Menefee Roars BY M ATTORNEYS April 1958 M. ROOTS 2,831,603

- VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 10. 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 2 i E 1' E1 I E E j INVENTOR 220ml Mane/ea Roofs Y iwuil @0051.

ATTORNEYS A ril 22, 1958 M. ROOTS 2,831,603

VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 10, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 HOVLT4 A.C.

INVENTOR Menefee Roofs ATTORNEYS VENDING MACHINE Menefee Roots, Arlington, Tex. Application February 10, 1954, Serial No. 409,377

1 Claim. (Cl. 221-122) This invention is concerned with a vending machine and is particularly concerned with a vending machine of the type having a rotatable magazine with novel article carrying compartments on the magazine which operate in con junction with a novel article dispensing slide.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a simplified, compact, article dispensing machine, with a minimum of operating mechanism, thus reducing the cost of manufacture and the ultimate sales price.

A further important object of this invention is to provide, in a rotatable drum type vending machine, dispensing mechanism whereby the article carrying compartments on the magazine are automatically aligned with the dispensing opening in the housing upon the withdrawal of the dispensing slide.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a magazine compartment of such construction as to permit only the dispensing of the lowermost article in the magazine compartment upon withdrawal of the dispensing slide.

A still further object of this invention is to provide, in a rotatable magazine type vending machine, means for dispensing packages of varying lengths from the same magazine compartment, such as king size and regular size cigarette packages. v

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel type of article withdrawing slide recessed within the base of the vending machine, and having an article engaging portion thereon which portion performs a multiplicity of functions in that, upon withdrawal, it automatically aligns the article carrying compartments with the opening in.

the housing, withdraws the lowermost package in the compartment, automatically de-energizes the coin actuated switch and has means associated therewith to prevent reinsertion of the slide and withdrawal of further packages from the compartment, without again energizing the coin actuated switch.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an article withdrawing slide having a block-like portion on the inner end thereof which, when in outward position, supports a column of packages in the magazine compartment and further blocks the opening in the housing to prevent the withdrawal of additional packages from the housing without going through the dispensing cycle.

Other and further objects of my invention will become apparent upon reading the detailed specification hereinafter following and by referring to the attached drawings.

A device suitable for carrying out my invention is illustrated in the attached drawings in which:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of the vending machine.

Fig. II is a transverse cross-sectional plan view of the machine taken on the line II-lI of Fig. I.

Fig. III is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevational view showing the slide in its relation to the lower end of an article carrying compartment and the solenoid actuated slide engaging pin.

Fig. IV is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, partially in perspective, taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. HI.

2,831,603 Patented Apr. 22, 1958 Fig. V is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, partially in perspective, showing the switch deenergizing mechanism arranged in association with the dispensing slide.

Fig. VI is a fragmentary perspective view of the dispensing slide. 1

Fig. VII is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevational view showing the switch de-energizing mechanism, which is actuated upon withdrawal of the dispensing slide.

Fig. VIII is a schematic view of the coin actuated switch, the indicating lamp and the slide controlling solenoid, with means operative for de-energizing the switch and solenoid.

in the drawings, numeral references are employed to indicate the various parts shown thereon and'like nu merals are employed to indicate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawings. I

The numeral 1 indicates a supporting-base for the vending machine, said base, as shown, being generally rectangular in shape and having a top wall 2 thereon.

A transparent cylindrically shaped housing 3, preferably made of transparent plastic, is removably secured on the upper side of the wall 2. The lower end of the housing 3 is preferably removably fitted into an annular groove 4 on the upper side of the wall2, and keyed therein against rotation.

A substantially cylindrical article carrying magazine 5 is rotatably supported centrally of the wall 2, and is enclosed within the cylindrical housing 3.

The magazine 5 has a hollow central core portion 6 which core portion is formed by a plurality of walls 7. A plurality of article receiving compartments 8 are spaced about the central core 6, each compartment being made up of side walls 9 and one of the walls 7.

Each of the compartments 8 has in-turned flanges 10 at the lower end thereof, on which flanges a column of articles, disposed in the compartments, may rest. Each of the compartments 8 also has inturned flanges 11 on the outer edges thereof extending inwardly of the side walls 9. The flanges 11 prevent the packages above the lowermost package disposed in the compartment from moving frontally out of the compartment.

Each of the flanges 10 has a beveled portion 12 the rear side thereof, the plained hereinafter.

on purpose of which will be ex- An opening 13 is provided at the lower side of each wall 7 through which opening the block 23, carried by the dispensing slide 20, may move upon reciprocation of the slide. Each opening 13 has beveled side edges 14, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter.

A shaft 15 extends centrally and longitudinally through the magazine 5, the same being centrally spaced in the core 6, and attached to the magazine 5, by means of a wall 16. The shaft 15 is secured to the wall 16 by means of welding 17.

The lower end of the shaft 15 is journaled on the basewall 2 by being rotatably inserted in a hole 18, which hole forms a bearing for the lower end of the shaft 15. The upper end of the shaft 15 rotatably extends centrally through the top of the housing 3 and has an operating knob 19 attached to the outer end thereof, whereby the magazine 5 may be rotated within the housing 3.

The slidable dispensing drawer or slide 20 has an intermediate relatively thin portion 21 thereon and is terminated at one end by a knob or handle 22.

A block 23, of relatively greater thickness than the intermediate portion 21, is provided on the inner end of the slide 20. The block 23 is provided with outward extensions 24 on the lower edges thereof, the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter.

Beveled corners 25 are provided on the upper, inner,

end of the block 23, and'beveled slots 26 are cut out in 3 the sides of the inner end of the block 23 for purposes to be explained hereinafter.

A channel 27 is provided in one side of the block 23, and the block 23 is bifurcated by a slot 28 extending inwardly from the outer end thereof. An upwardly extending shield 29 is provided on the intermediate portion 21 of the-slide, said shield being supported on the slide by means of a butt block 30, said butt block being secured to the slide by the screws 31 and to the shield 29 by means of a screw 31a.

A channel 32 is provided on the upper face of the wall 2, said channel extending from the edge of the wall 2, inwardly, and terminating at a point past the central longitudinal axis of the wall 2. The slide 20 is arranged to slidably fit in the channel 32, the lower outer edges of the channel being tapered outwardly to receive complementary-shaped lower sides of the slide whereby the slide 20 is keyed in the channel 32 against upward movement therein, the keying arrangement being indicated by the numeral 33.

It will be noted that when the slide 20 is disposed in the channel 32, the intermediate portion 21 of the slide is entirely recessed in the channel and the upper side thereof does not extend above the channel. .The outward extensions 24 on the block 23 extend over the sides of the channel 32 and ride on the upper side of the wall 2, when the slide is moved in the channel.

The underside of the slide 20 is provided with a plurality of recesses 35, each recess 35 being provided with a tapered guide portion 350:, and a vertical engaging side 35b thereby forming a plurality of ratchet teeth on the lower side of the slide for the purpose which will be hereinafter explained.

Coin actuated mechanism is provided for the release of the slide 20 so that articles may be withdrawn from the compartments 8 by withdrawal of the slide in the manner hereinafter described.

A coin rejector mechanism 36, of conventional construction, is mounted on the base 1. The rejector mechanism 36 is provided with a coin insertion slot 37. A coin return receptacle 38, communicating with the coin rejector 36, is provided on the front of base 1, for the purpose of receiving rejected coins dropped into the coin rejector 36.

The coin actuated switch 36a is of conventional construction of the type arranged to be energized by a coin passing therethrough and said switch remains energized until de-energized mechanically. The switch 36a is arranged to operate in conjunction with the coin rejector mechanism 36. The switch 36a may be set for actuation by any denomination of coin, or combinations of coins, as is the usual practice.

A solenoid 39 is mounted underneath the wall 2 by means of a suitable bracket 40, said bracket being secured to the wall 2 by means of screws 41. A spring arm 42 is provided on the solenoid and is arranged to be drawn to the solenoid when the solenoid is energized.

A pin 43 is attached to, and extends upwardly from, the spring arm 42. The upper end of said pin 43 ex tends through a passage 44 in the wall 2. The upper end of pin 43 is arranged to engage with the vertical sides 35b of the recesses 35 to thereby prevent the withdrawal of the slide 20 when the solenoid 39 is not energized.

Suitable electric leads are provided between the coin actuated switch 36a and the solenoid 39, so that when a suitable coin is deposited in the coin rejector box 36 it may pass therethrough and energize the switch 36a, there by energizing the relay 39, drawing the spring arm 42 to the relay and releasing the pin 43 from the recesses 35, thereby permitting the withdrawal of the slide 20 along the channel 32.

A lamp 45 is connected in parallel with the solenoid 39, so that when the solenoid is energized the lamp will be energized and the light therefrom may be seen through a transparent window 46 arranged in the wall 2, thereby Al indicating visually that the machine is energized and that the slide 20 may be withdrawn.

Mechanical means, actuated by the withdrawal of the slide 20, is provided for de-energizing the coin actuated switch mechanism 36a and the solenoid 39.

A trip member 47 is pivotally secured to the upper side of the wall 2 by means of a pivot bolt 48. The trip member 47 has an arm 4iextending thereform, the free end of said arm 49 extending into the channel 27 in the side of the block 23. A spring 50 has one end secured to the arm 49 and the other end secured to the wall 2 by means of a screw 51. The trip member 47 is normally held in a predetermined position by the spring 50, except when moved against the tension of the spring, as will be described hereinafter.

An extension lug 52 is provided on the trip member 47, said extension lug 52 having a downwardly extending pin 53 attached thereto. The pin 53 is arranged to move laterally in the slot 54, provided through the wall 2.

A wire 55 has one end attached to the pin 53 and slidably extends through an eye 56. The eye 56 is secured to the bottom side of the wall 2. The other end of the wire 55 is attached to the setting arm 57. The setting arm 57 is a conventional part of the coin actuated switch mechanism 36a.

The setting arm 57 is spring urged and is so arranged that when the arm 57 is pulled upwardly against the spring tension, the arm will engage and open the coin actuated switch and thereby de-energize the solenoid 39 and the lamp 45.

In Fig. VIII, suitable apparatus is shown schematically, operating in conjunction with the arm 57, to de-energize the switch 36a. As shown, the switch contacts 60 and 61 are closed, having been closed by dropping a coin through the coin slot 37. This is accomplished by conventional mechanism, well known in the art, and it is not thought necessary to illustrate it in detail. However, suitable mechanism is shown schematically.

The arm 62 is pivoted at 63. The arm 62 is pushed downwardly into contact with switch terminals 60 and Y 61 by a coin dropped through the coin rejector box 36,

thus closing the circuit to the solenoid 39, and energizing the solenoid.

An extension or leg portion 66 is carried by the arm 57, said extension being normally held out of contact with arm 62 by the spring 64. When the arm 57 is pulled upward by the wire 55 about the pivot point 65, against the tension of spring 64, the leg 66 strikes the inner end of the arm 62 and pivots the arm 62 counterclockwise about the pivot point 63, thus breaking contact between switch terminals 60 and 61. The circuit which supplies current to the solenoid 39 is thereby broken, the solenoid is de-energized and the spring arm 42 is released. The pin 43 comes into contact with the underside of the slide 20 to thereby permit the pin to engage with the recesses 35, thereby preventing further outward movement of the slide.

The wire 55 is provided for mechanically pivoting the arm 57 as described above, to open the coin actuated switch 36a to thereby de-energize the solenoid 39, in the manner explained.

The construction and operation of my vending machine may be more easily understood by considering the function thereof, which is described as follows:

The vending machine disclosed herein is particularly adapted to dispense packages of cigarettes. However, it may be adapted to dispense any kind of packaged merchandise.

The magazine 5 may be loaded with packages by removing the housing 3 therefrom, thereby exposing the magazine 5. This may be done by removing the knob 19 from the shaft 15 and lifting the housing 3 upwardly.

A difierent brand of cigarettes, or other packaged articles, may be placed in each of the compartments 8, the packages being arranged in superposed relationship as indicated by broken lines in Fig. III and being designated by the numeral 58. The column of packages is supported by the flanges 16. After the magazine has thus been loaded, the cover 3 is replaced over the magazine 5, with the shaft 15 extending through the upper side of the housing, and the knob 19 attached to the upper end of the said shaft.

The magazine 5 may be rotated by rotating the knob 19 in order to bring the selected magazine compartment 8 into alignment with the dispensing opening 59 in the lower end of the housing 3. This may be done visually, as the housing 3 is transparent.

A suitable coin is then dropped into the coin slot 37, thereby energizing coin actuated switch 36a. The solenoid 39 is energized through the energized coin actuated switch, thereby pulling the pin 43 downward and releasing it from the recess 35 in which it is engaged, allowing the dispensing slide 20 to be withdrawn.

When the slide 20 is in inward position as shown in Fig. III, the pin 43 will be engaged in the outermost recess 35. After the pin 43 has been thus released from the recess 35 by energization of the solenoid 39 the slide may be drawn outwardly along the channel 32 by pulling on the handle 22. As the slide 20 is drawn outwardly, the beveled ends 25 on the block 23 engage and slide past the beveled surfaces 14 of the lower end of the wall 7, thereby rotating the magazine 5 a sufficient amount to align the opening 13 with the block 23, permitting the block 23 to pass through the opening 13, even though the compartment 8 may not be in exact alignment with said opening.

Upon further withdrawal of the slide 20, the slots 26, having tapered inner sides, will engage and slide over the beveled surfaces 12 on the flanges 10, thereby centering the block between the flanges and at the same time rotatably adjusting the magazine 5 to such position as to align the compartment 8 with the outlet opening 59.

As the block 23 comes into contact with the lowermost package 58 in the column of packages in the compartment 8, the inner end of the block will engage the lowermost package in the compartment and pull the package outwardly through the opening 34 at the lower end of the compartment 8, and through the dispensing outlet 59 in the lower end of the housing 3. The dispensed package is thus withdrawn to outer side of the housing 3.

The inner sides of outlet opening 59 are beveled, as

indicated at 59a, so that packages will be guided over the beveled surfaces and are thus prevented from becoming hung up on the sides of the opening 59.

The flanges 11, above the opening 34, restrain the packages 58 above the lowermost package, from outward movement while the lowermost package is being dispensed as described above.

It will be noted that the block 23 is slightly less in vertical thickness than the package to be dispensed, as is shown in Fig. III, so that the package immediately above the lowermost package is not contacted by the block 23 until the lowermost package has been withdrawn from underneath the column of packages to allow the column of packages to fall downward to a position of support on the block.

Thus it will be seen that only the lowermost package is dispensed from the compartment 8 upon each withdrawal of the slide 20.

As the slide 20 is withdrawn, the free end of the arm 49 will be engaged by the rear end 27a of the groove 27, thus pulling the arm 49 forward about the pivot screw 48 against the spring 50. Said motion moves the lug 52 and pin 53 backward, thus exerting -a pull on the wire 55. The switch de-energizing arm 57 is thereby pulled upwardly by wire 55, thereby opening the coin actuated switch 36a and de-energizing the solenoid 39, in the manner already explained.

The relationship between the arm 49 and the channel 27 is so pre-arranged that the dispensed package has been withdrawn to the outer side of housing 3 when the armv 49 engages the rear end 27a of the slot 27.

Upon the de-energization of the solenoid 39, the pin 43 is released and is allowed to spring back into the innermost recess 35 on the slide 20, thereby preventing the further withdrawal of the slide.

As the slide 20 is pushed inwardly along the channel 32, the pin 43 will ride over the tapered surfaces 35a and successively engage with the vertical sides 35b of the recesses 35 until the slide is pushed inwardly to the maximum extent and the pin 43 is engaged with the outermost recess 35. A ratchet is thereby provided by the recesses 35 and the spring urged pin 43. Therefore, it is impossible to re-insert the slide 20 and withdraw another package from the machine Without again inserting a coin to energize the coin actuated switch 36a and the solenoid 39.

As the slide is pushed inwardly after dispensing a package, the block 23 will slide from underneath the column of packages, which it is supporting, and the column of packages will be allowed to fall downwardly to a position of support on the flanges 10 at the lower end of the compartment 8. Thus the vending machine is in condition for another dispensing operation, as has been described above.

It will be noted that when the slide 20 is in inward position, the shield 29 closes the dispensing opening 59, thus preventing access to the interior of the housing 3.

The compartments 8 are preferably deep enough from front to rearto accommodate varying lengths of packages, such as king. size and regular size cigarette packages. However it is to be understood that the compartments 8 may be varied in size and shape to accommodate various sizes and shapes of packaged articles.

In order to permit the block 23 to be entirely behind and clear of the compartment 8 when the slide 20 is in inward position as shown in Fig. III, a slot 28 may be provided in the inner end of the block so that the block may straddle the shaft 15 to permit the block to clear the compartment.

It is apparent that other forms and modifications may be made of my invention than that shown and described and still remain within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a vending machine of the type having a plurality of radially disposed article-carrying compartments rotatably disposed on a base in a housing and an article dispensing slide slideably carried on the base and having a part arranged to engage and withdraw the lowermost package in a selected compartment through an opening in the housing, the improvement comprised of, an elongated radially extending channel in the upper face of the base in which the slide is recessed and keyed, said channel coinciding with the opening in the housing, a passage in the base communicating with the channel, a springurged pin carried on the under side of the base and extending through the passage and arranged to engage the under side of the slide to normally prevent withdrawal of the slide, a coin-actuated solenoid carried on the underside of the base arranged to attract the pin when energized to thereby disengage the pin from the slide, means engageable by the slide upon withdrawal thereof to de-energize the solenoid to thereby release the pin and allow the pin to re-engage the slide, and a plurality of ratchet teeth on the underside of the slide successively engageable with the spring-urged pin as the slide is pushed inwardly to prevent re-insertion and withdrawal of the slide while the solenoid is de-energized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS Gates Nov. 20, 1888 Williams Nov. 18, 1890 Ratclifi Oct. 16, 1894 Caille June 9, 1903 Vandagriff Jan. 28, 1913 Burnham Aug. 1, 1922 Spooner et a1 Apr. 1, 1924 

